Vacant houses can destroy property values for surrounding homeowners and drag down the appeal of entire neighborhoods – and a new report identifies the U.S. cities where the problem is most significant.

A high vacancy rate can also indicate the availability of more affordable homes – or signal that many residences are second home getaways (as is the case in much of Florida).

Researchers at LendingTree ranked the nation's 50 biggest cities on their homeowner vacancy rates, finding that the top three cities were all in the Sunshine State.

'High vacancy rates and high homes prices often suggest that an area has some unique characteristics, such as being a vacation hot spot or targeted by investors, which could mean the real estate is overpriced,' said Tendayi Kapfidze, Chief Economist at LendingTree.

'High vacancy rates and low home prices might mean that an area is experiencing socioeconomic hardships, like high unemployment or crime rates,' he added.

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This map illustrates the top 10 U.S. cities with the highest home vacancy rates

Miami ranked number one on the list with 428,255 unoccupied homes in the city, for a 17 percent vacancy rate.

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Experts say paying attention to vacancy rates is important for prospective homebuyers, because it can be an indication of how much is needed for a down payment, or how large of a mortgage they may need.

'Knowing the number of vacant homes in an area is an important part of understanding the overall health of the local housing market,' Kapfidze said.

'For example, if both vacancy rates and home prices are relatively low, it could mean that sellers are parting with their homes for less money than they could have potentially received,' he added. 'If vacancy rates are low and housing prices are high, it could signify that the market is overly competitive, and that lower-income people might have a problem finding a house.'

This map illustrates the top 10 U.S. cities with the lowest home vacancy rates

Lower vacancy rates will often allow sellers to get rid of their homes quickly for higher prices, while markets with high vacancy rates will provide homebuyers with more choice – but the prospect of having a hard time selling that house down the road.

At the other end of the spectrum, San Jose, California had the lowest vacancy rate (4.3 percent) in the nation, with just 28,846 vacant homes out of 676,737 houses in that city.

Minneapolis was the second-lowest, with a nearly 5 percent vacancy rate, followed by Denver (5.35 percent) and Salt Lake City, Utah (5.55 percent).